Buyer's guide: skateboard trucks

Useful informations before buying your skateboard trucks: choosing the width & height. The different materials...

The choice of the size of the skateboard trucks must be in harmony with the width of the deck chosen. As a general rule, it is considered that the total length of the axle should correspond to the width of the board. If wide wheels are used, the trucks can be a little narrower in order to have an overall width of trucks + wheels = deck width.

Trucks / Decks matching guide:

Low or High?

Skateboard trucks can have varying ground clearance heights:

_Low trucks provides limited ground clearance, which minimizes reaction time to slam ollies and improves stability. If you are using 52mm wheels or less, go with this option.

_High trucks: A few millimeters of height allow the use of wheels up to 54mm in diameter. Beyond that, use pads to free up space between wheels and board. More height increases the level of leverage and therefore agility.

Truck weight & construction materials

_Most trucks are made of cast aluminum, that is to say, molded aluminum. This finish represents the best value price.

_Some trucks are "Hollow", that is to say that the axles and/or the kingpin are hollow in order to save weight. This option will allow you to gain some height in your ollies.

_Forged trucks are made of forged aluminum. More expensive, they are also much more resistant and precise. If you have the annoying tendency to destroy your axles at lightning speed, it's time to consider switching to this type of truck.

The weight of the trucks can vary from simple to double depending on the metals used. We tend to consider, rightly or wrongly, that light trucks are more fragile. For street riding and for grinding uneven surfaces, standard aluminum trucks will generally hold up better to repeated assaults. For skatepark riding with grinds on very smooth copings, the solidity of light trucks is sufficient and the benefit of weight gain / loss of solidity is largely beneficial.

Trucks Settings

To get the most out of your trucks, it is very important to fine-tune the setting by adapting bushings to your weight and your riding style.

The majority of skateboard trucks use Street size busings on the board side & Short Street size bushings on the road side.

_Shapes can be conical or cylindrical (or both at the same time) Cylindrical rubbers make the board more stable and limit the lean (ability of the truck to lean in depth) Tapered erasers, turn deeper and return more between curves. It is very common to mix a Barrel (Cylinder) shape on the board side, with a cone on the road side. This setting is a good compromise between agility and stability.

_The hardness choice varies according to the weight of the rider.

Here are our bushings hardness Vs Rider's weight recommendations:

   -20kg -> 60A

   20/30Kg-> 65A/70A

   30/40Kg-> 70A/75A

   40/50Kg-> 75A/80A

   50/60Kg-> 80A

   60/70Kg-> 85A/90A

   70/80Kg-> 90A/95A

   +80Kg->95A/99A

To further fine-tune your trucks, replacing the stock pivot cups with polyurethane pivot cups is a very good option. The urethane cups (produced by Riptide) will eliminate play between the baseplate and the hanger, at the pivot point. The urethane will also bring a gain in comfort and eliminate any squealing of the trucks.